Liverpool manager Arne Slot believes Federico Chiesa exceeded expectations in his long-awaited Premier League debut in Monday's 3-2 defeat at Brighton.
Italian striker Chiesa was the only new signing since Slot took over from Jurgen Klopp at Anfield last summer but has been sidelined since his £10million move from Juventus.
After Liverpool clinched the title at the end of last month, the Euro 2020 winners were finally handed their top-flight debut as part of four changes from last weekend's 2-2 draw with Arsenal.
Chiesa, who has made just six league appearances, had little impact at the Amex Stadium as the Reds twice squandered leads and suffered a fourth league defeat this season.
Mohamed Salah failed to score into an empty net to give the visitors a 3-1 lead before second-half substitutes Kaoru Mitoma and Jack Hinshelwood secured three points for the eighth-placed Seagulls after Harvey Elliott and Dominik Szoboszlai scored either side of Yacine Ayari's early equaliser.
“Federico's key quality is his ability to score,” Slot said.
“So the more time he spends in and around the penalty area, the more likely he is to score.
“He had a good chance just before Mo had his big chance. The open shot from 18 yards is a great opportunity for Federico as he is a great finisher.
“I think he exceeded even my expectations because if you haven’t played all season and you’ve barely started and then you play away against Brighton, a very strong team who can bring on Mitoma with 20 minutes to go, it says a lot about the quality of this league.
“For him to be out for so long and still play in a game like that is more than I could have expected from him.”
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
